Cigarette machine feed



Oct. 4, 196

Filed Oct. 51,

6 G. DEARSLEY CIGARETTE MACHINE FEED 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY vic mymy ATTORNEY 1966 G. DEARSLEY CIGARETTE MACHINE FEED 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 51, 1961 ATTORNEY CIGARETTE MACHINE FEED Filed Oct. 51, 1961 i 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY ATTORNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 51. 1961 INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,276,452 CIGARETTE MACHINE FEED George Dearsley, Kensington, England, assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Get. 31, 1961, Ser. No. 148,971 Claims. (Cl. 131-21) This invention relates to a cigarette machine feed, and more particularly to improvements in apparatus for forming a stream of shredded tobacco that is fed to a cigarette machine.

In known feeding devices a coarse carded supply drum and a refuser drum are employed to produce the basic stream of tobacco which eventually forms the finished cigarette. This known arrangement provides very inefiicient filling of the main (supply) drum carding.

Various attempts have been devised to try to average out the inequalities of carding; however in each case, the final cigarette rod is composed of the stream which is fed by the main supply drum and any inaccuracies which exist in such primary feeding must, in spite of the averaging devices, be present in some form or another in the finished rod.

Furthermore, if the speed of such feeding devices is increased, the non-uniformity of the shredded tobacco becomes even more objectional and the carding tends to break the shreds into undesirable small pieces.

It is a general object of the present invention to avoid and overcome the foregoing and other difliculties of and objections to prior art practices by the provision of an improved feeding device which will produce a uniform endless tobacco stream.

Another object of the present invention to provide an improved feeding device which will compact tobacco as it is fed along a predetermined path so as to provide a uniform mass of tobacco on which a picker operates.

Another object of the present invention is to provide improved means for laterally compacting a column of tobacco as it passes through a feeder.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a feed for a cigarette making machine which does not employ any carding.

A further object of the invention is to provide a feed for shredded tobacco which will compact tobacco along a predetermined path to deliver a tobacco stream .of uniform mass directly to a picker.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of means for effecting complete control to derive uniformity of the tobacco feed.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a feeding device which will compact tobacco along a predetermined path wherein a rotary picker acting on the compacted tobacco will not remove tobacco from the compacted mass prematurely, that is, before the tobacco is of the desired compactness for picking.

The aforesaid objects of the present invention and other objects which will become apparent as the description proceeds are achieved by employing means for effecting a frictional lateral compaction of a column of shredded tobacco and abrading the leading face of the compacted tobacco column to produce a shower of tobacco which is gathered as a uniform stream for making cigarettes.

The objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of the particular embodiments thereof. In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, like characters of reference have been applied to corresponding parts throughout the several views which make up the drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary end elevation of my improved tobacco feed, partly in section.

Ice

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the novel device of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a detail in section of a modified form of feed roller employing a roughened surface.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section through a modified form of tobacco feed used to produce a homogeneous column of tobacco.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are vertical sections of modified tobacco feed means for compacting the tobacco in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 9 is a vertical section of another modified form of my tobacco feed wherein the picker operates about an axis parallel to the axes of the tobacco compacting rolls.

FIGURE 10 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a tobacco feed incorporating a modified form of picker.

FIGURE 11 is a plan view of a modified form of a pair of compacting rollers.

FIGURE 12 is a vertical section taken along the line 12-12 of FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 13 shows a vertical section of another embodiment of tobacco feed employing compacting belts.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, tobacco T is fed into a chute or hopper 10 from a suitable source of supply (not shown). Suitable walls 11 and 13 define the sides of the hopper 10. The vertical column of shredded tobacco T in the hopper 10 descends by the force of gravity into the compacting means defined by two spaced parallel feed rolls 12 and 14. Operating between the two feed rolls 12 and 14 is an abrading means, for example, a picker wheel 16 which is rotatable (by means not shown) about an axis perpendicular to the axes of the rolls 12 and 14. The rolls 12 and 14 serve to compact the tobacco to a suilicient degree of solidarity in order that particles of tobacco may be stripped at a uniform rate from between the rolls 12 and 14 by the picker 16. The picker 16 is enclosed by a housing 26 and has pins 18 extending radially from its periphery which act on the lower or leading face of the compressed tobacco T which is fed between the rolls 1.2 and 14. A shaft 20 supported by the bearings 22 and 24, rotatably supports the picker wheel 16 between the two rolls 12 and 14.

Means are provided (not shown) to cause rotation of the feed rolls 12 and 14 in the direction indicated by the arrows (FIGURE 1) to compact and positively feed the tobacco T which settles at the bottom of the hopper 10.

The compacting of the tobacco shreds between the counter-rotating feed rolls 12 and 14 causes any hollow spaces in the tobacco stream to be filled in, thus providing a very uniform stream for the picker wheel 16 to act upon. The picker wheel 16 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 2 and the pins 18 on the wheel 16 pick off the tobacco shreds from the bottom of the compacted tobacco column between the two feed rolls 12 and 14 and shower the tobacco shreds generally downwardly (FIGURE 2). The showered tobacco is collected as a uniform stream of tobacco on a conveyor 33 which carries the tobacco stream to a rod forming mechanism of a cigarette making machine. The showered tobacco may also fall on to spaced elongated rollers of a cigarette machine as shown in my copending application Serial No. 148,270, filed October 27, 1961.

A rotary brush (not shown) or the like may be used instead of picker wheel 16.

The picker shaft bearings 22 and 24 are mounted on supporting arms 25 (only one shown in FIGURE 2) which are adjustable vertically as indicated by the double arrow in FIGURE 2. By providing the adjustable supporting arms 25, the distances between the axis of the picker wheel 16 and the axes of the feed rolls 12 and 14 may be varied. Thus, the precise plane at which the tobacco is picked off by the picker 16 from between the rolls 12, 14 may be determined by the setting of the picker wheel relative to the feed rollers. The advantages of such adjustment means are as follows.

As the tobacco T is received from the tobacco chute and compacted between the feed rolls 12 and 14, the zone of maximum compaction will be in a plane through the axes of the feed rolls 12 and 14. Due to the springy nature of the tobacco being compacted, the tobacco mass will expand after passing through the narrowest zone between the feed rolls 12 and 14 and will tend to conform to thediverging surfaces of the rolls 12 and 14 below their axes. By providing the adjustment, above described, it is possible to pick the tobacco at the zone of maximum compaction as shown in FIGURE 1 or, by lowering the picker wheel 16, it is possible to pick the tobacco at a zone where the tobacco is expanded at some distance below the drum axes.

Thus it can be seen that the functions of compacting and driving the tobacco mass downwardly are independently adjustable relative to the function of picking the tobacco, for it is evident that if a certain degree of compaction is necessary to drive the tobacco downwardly and a different degree of compaction is necessary to provide optimum picking conditions, both of these requirements may be independently satisfied by choosing a position for the picker which operates on the tobacco after it has passed the zone of maximum compaction (which compaction may be necessary to provide proper feeding conditions) at a point where the tobacco mass has expanded to the desired density necessary for picking. This precludes premature picking of the tobacco. It is to be noted that all this is achieved while the tobacco stream is under full control of the driving surfaces, and that this flexibility will permit the accommodation of various types and conditions of tobacco.

Each of the feed rolls 12 and 14 may be provided with a roughened surface 32, as shown in FIGURE 4, which may be desirable for handling particular types of tobacco. It has been found, however, that a pair of smooth rollers working together in a manner shown in FIGURE 1 produces, for most shredded tobacco, a satisfactory feed. In this regard it is also to be noted that there is substantially no limitation of the degree of roughness of the surfaces of the rollers 12 and 14 necessary to provide friction between such surfaces and the tobacco since there is no guide member or other device between the rolls 12, 14 and the picker 16 by which the tobacco mass could be sheared to cause undue breakage thereof. Also, it is possible to operate with a minimum of pressure between the rolls 12 and 14 since tobacco is transferred from between the rolls 12, 14 directly to the picker 16. Lower operating pressure between the rolls 12, 14 result in less tobacco breakage.

In some cases it may be desirable to offset the center of the picker wheel 16 relative to the center line of the vertical column of tobacco T passing between the feed rolls 12 and 14. This offset would provide a minimum of disturbance to the advancing tobacco by the picker pins 18 for reasons which follow.

When the picker pins 18 enter the tobacco mass at the right hand side of the column of tobacco T, as viewed in FIGURE 2, they exert a generally upward and forward force on the tobacco mass between the feed rollers 12 and 14. At the left hand side, they exert a generally downward and forward force which tends to pull the tobacco from the tobacco mass prematurely. By offsetting the center of the picker wheel 16 to the left (as viewed in FIGURE 2) relative to the center of the tobacco column between the rolls 12 and 14, this latter force will be reduced to a minimum thereby rninizing the tendency of the pins 18 to pull pieces out of the tobacco mass at this point. It has been found, however, that the face at the bottom of the compressed tobacco column which is picked by the pins 18 is self-supporting for most shredded tobacco and the picker 16 need not be offset.

It is to be noted that the tobacco shower produced by the picker 16 has a velocity component parallel to, and in the direction of motion of, the longitudinally traveling conveyor 33, thus making it possible to operate the conveyor 33 at a high rate of speed. Furthermore, due to the narrowness of the picker 6 operating between the two rolls 12 and 14, it is possible to direct the shower of tobacco into a relatively narrow U-shaped trough 34 as shown in FIGURE 1. In conjunction with the tobacco feed, the hopper 10 may be provided with a sensing device (such as detector 46 in FIGURES 5 and 6) which responds to the height of tobacco in the hopper 10 for controlling the speed of mechanical or means feeding the tobacco T into the hopper 10.

In FIGURE 5, I have shown a modification of my invention wherein such modification is used to supply the hopper 10 of FIGURE 1 with tobacco having a uniform density. In FIGURE 5 a pair of feed rolls 12a, 14a (only one shown) and a picker 16a are arranged similarly to that shown in FIGURE 2. A casing 36 is provided around the periphery of the picker 16a for guiding the tobacco from the picker wheel 16a into the hopper 10. The tobacco is fed to the feed rolls 12a, 14a from a hopper 10a and is discharged from the picker 16a into the hopper 10 which is the same hopper 10 shown in FIG- URES 1 and 2. Thus, instead of producing a shower of tobacco as shown in FIGURE 2, this modified arrangement supplies the hopper 10 of FIGURE 2 with a column of tobacco of more uniform density, than the column of tobacco in hopper 10a, as it will not have any knots and dense portions usually found in bulk rag tobacco since the picker 16a will tear apart the knots and dense portions. A sensing device 40 in the hopper 10 which responds to the height of tobacco in the hopper 10 (FIG- URE 5) may be provided for controlling the speed of rotation of the rolls 12a, 14a.

Referring to FIGURE 6, I have shown a modified form of the compacing means wherein a pair of urging rollers 42, 44 are located in the column of tobacco above the compacting rollers 12, 14. These urging rollers may run at a comparatively high speed so that their frictional grip on the tobacco column aids the compacting due to gravity, thereby presenting a more homogenous mass to the compacting rollers 12, 14. Channel members 43, 45 having curved surfaces conforming generally to the curvature of the rollers 12, 14, 42, 44 and forming a channel therebetween as shown in FIGURE 6 are provided for guiding the tobacco from between the rollers 42, 44 to the space between the rollers 12, 14.

In FIGURE 7, I show a further form of the compacting means wherein a pair of endless conveyor belts 46, 48 traveling over rollers 50, 52 and 54, 56, respectively, replace the rollers 12, 14 shown in FIGURE 1 to compact and feed the tobacco downwardly where it is picked by the picker wheel 16.

In FIGURE 8, a further modification of the compacting means is shown wherein a vibratory chute 59 has been provided as a substitute for the feed rollers 12, 14 shown in FIGURE 1. In this case, the tobacco T is funneled by means of the chute walls 58, 60 into a neck portion 62 by means of the vibratory mounting of the chute 59 and the neck portion 62. The picker wheel picks the compacted tobacco from within the neck portion 62.

A modification of the arrangement of the compacting and abrading means is shown in FIGURE 9. In this embodiment the picker 16 rotates about an axis which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the rollers 50, 52, 54 and 56. Channel members 66, 68 having curved surfaces conforming generally to the curvature of the rollers 52,

56 and forming a channel therebetween as shown in FIG- URE 9 are provided for guiding the compacted tobacco from between the conveyor belts 46, 48 to the picker 16. These members 66, 63, particularly 66, maintain the compactness of the tobacco while the picker wheel 16 enters the formed channel to abrade the compacted column of tobacco. The arrangement in FIGURE 9 may also be provided with a casing (not shown) around the picker (similar to casing 376 in FIGURE 5) so that it can operate similarly to the arrangement of FIGURE 5 for supplying the hopper with a column of tobacco of more uniform density.

In FIGURE 10 I have shown a modified form of abrading means wherein an endless conveyor having pins 18 extending outwardly therefrom passes over a pair of rollers 72, 7d. The endless conveyor 71 may be used in place of the picker wheel 16 shown in FIGURES 1 to 4 and 6 to 9 to pick the bottom face of the compacted tobacco column. The rollers 72, 74 (FIGURE 10) are supported by arms 25, 25a and these arms may be movable on the supports 76, 78 to vary the level of the plane at which the tobacco is picked from between the rollers 12, 14.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 10 the pins 18 travel in a path parallel to the axes of the rollers 12, 14 only one of which is shown so that the tobacco may be picked in the plane containing the axes of the rollers 12, 14 or in a plane parallel thereto.

In FIGURES 11 and 12 I have shown a modified form of compacting means wherein rollers 12b, 14/) shaped as hyperboloids are used in place of the straight faced rollers 12, 14 of FIGURE 1. These modified rollers 12b, 14b rotate about axes which are tilted such that the axes lie in a plane which is inclined to the horizontal plane (as viewed in FIG. 12) in which the axis of the picker wheel 16 is located. The shape of surfaces of the rollers 12b, 1412 are such that the intersection of roller surface 811 with an axial plane of the roller defines a hyperbola. The shape of the hyperbola 80 and the angular relationship of the rolls 12b, 14b with respect to the axis of the picker 16 is clearly shown in FIGURE 12.

The nature of the hyperbola formed on the surfaces 80 of the rollers 12b, 14b is such that a straight line, angular to the axis of rotation, will be traced on each roller surface by a point moving from one end face to the other. Such a straight line 82 as is shown as a broken line in FIG. 12 defines the plane of maximum compaction because the confronting roller surfaces 80 :are closest in that plane. In order to aid in describing this characteristic, it may be pointed out that if a ruler (straight edged member) having two parallel straight edges were placed between the rollers 12b, 1412 along the line 82, (FIG. 12), the edges of the ruler would touch the surfaces 80 of the rollers 12b, 14b throughout their length.

With this arrangement, the tips of the pins 18, in passing between the right hand portions of rollers 12]), 141), as viewed in FIG. 12, will travel a shorter distance obliquely or transversely to the plane through the axes of rotation of the rollers 12b, 14b than if the axes of rotation were not tilted. This can be seen in FIG. 12 where the axes of rotation 84 lie in a plane intersected by the pins 18 only as the pins leave the right hand side of the rollers 12b, 14b.

A further modification of compacting means is shown in FIGURE 13 wherein tobacco T is fed into chute 113 in which it forms a comparatively uniformly dense column. Belts and 92 run over rollers 94, 96, 98 and rollers 1%, 1112 and 104 respectively, said rollers being suitably driven to cause the belts to run in the direction of the arrows shown. Stationary support members 106 and 1118 are provided to back up the belts so as to support them and define their configuration where in contact with tobacco in hopper It).

The rollers 94, 96, 100 and 102 are so positioned that the moving surfaces of the belts approach each other 6 as they travel downwardly from rollers 94 to 96 and 100 to 102.

Rollers 96, 98 and 102, 104 are so positioned that the belts 9t 92 running over them provide a substantially parallel-sided passage or channel 112 through which the compacted tobacco passes.

Thus the moving belts 90 and 92 receive the column of tobacco T and feed it downwardly at the same time compacting it to the desired degree between rollers 96 and 162 after which it is fed downwardly whilst held in the fully compacted condition and passed through the channel 112 formed by the lower run of the belts between rollers 96, 98 and 102, 104.

The lower face of the compacted tobacco mass so formed and fed may be picked into a shower of tobacco shreds by a rotating picker of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which case the picker pins will operate on the tobacco whilst it is still confined in the channel 112.

Two small rollers may be employed around which the belts 90, 92 run so as to make possible the control of the tobacco up to the picker without using any stationary surfaces such as the members 66 of FIGURE 9.

The invention hereinabove described may therefore be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular devices selected to illustrate the invention are but several of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structures shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cigarette making machine, the combination comprising a source of shredded tobacco, a pair of spaced parallel rolls operable to frictionally engage and increasingly compact tobacco delivered to the space between said rolls from said source, picking means rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the axes of said rolls for removing the compacted tobacco from between said rolls, said picking means comprising picking pins which are projectable between said parallel rolls and into said compacted tobacco in the region above a plane passing through the axes of rotation of said parallel rolls.

2. A cigarette machine tobacco feed comprising, a supply hopper for shredded cigarette tobacco, a pair of parallel rollers spaced from each other and rotatable to frictionally engage and increasingly compact tobacco delivered to the space between said rollers from said hopper, a picker wheel having an axis of rotation normal to the axis of rotation of said pair of parallel rollers, for continuously removing particles of tobacco from between said rollers at a uniform rate and propelling the particles laterally as a shower of falling tobacco in a narrow band, said picker wheel comprising pins projecting from its cylindrical periphery, means for actuating said wheel so that said pins project above a plane passing through the axes of said pair of parallel rollers in the region of densest compaction of said tobacco, and conveyor means for receiving said narrow band of falling tobacco in the form of a uniform stream.

3. A cigarette machine according to claim 2 wherein the surfaces of said rollers are roughened to augment frictional engagement between the tobacco and the rollers.

4. A tobacco feed for a cigarette making machine comprising, a chute for shredded tobacco, a pair of spaced parallel rollers for advancing and laterally continually compacting tobacco received therebetween from said chute, a picker wheel rotatable about an axis positioned 90 degrees with respect to the axes of said rollers, said picker wheel having pins projectable into said space, means for controlling said pins so that their outer extremities are vertically adjustable throughout a range in the region of the substantial maximum compaction of said tobacco, said picker wheel being operable to pick particles of tobacco from between said rollers and propel them laterally into a falling shower of tobacco, and a housing about either side of said picker wheel for containing said falling shower of tobacco as a narrow band to produce a uniform stream of tobacco for forming into cigarettes.

5. In a feed for a cigarette machine, the combination comprising a source of shredded tobacco, a pair of confronting surfaces spaced from each other to receive tobacco therebetween from said source and movable for conveying the tobacco therethrough and for applying compacting pressure on the same at an increasing rate and in a direction from each of the pair of surfaces towards the other, and abrading means extending between the pair of surfaces and being operable in a path transverse to the direction of compaction for removing particles of tobacco from between the pair of moving surfaces at the location of substantially greatest compaction.

6. The combination according to claim wherein the pair of confronting surfaces are opposed conveyor laps of a pair of spaced endless conveyor belts movable supported by a plurality of members rotatable on parallel axes, the opposed conveyor laps being spaced closer to each other at their ends adjacent the abrading meant; than at their other ends, and the abrading means is a picker wheel rotatable on an axis transverse to the parallel axes.

7. The combination according to claim 5 wherein the pair of con-fronting surfaces are the cylindrical surfaces of a pair of rollers which are rotatable on parallel axes for compacting said tobacco in a direction extending between the parallel axes, and the abrading means is a picker wheel rotatable on an axis transverse to the parallel axes.

8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the means for delivering tobacco is an elongated chute having a longitudinal axis, the axis of rotation of the picker wheel is offset with respect to the longitudinal axis of the chute in a direction parallel to the parallel axes of the rollers, and the picker wheel has pin members extending therefrom and projectable through a plane extending through the parallel axes of the rollers when the picker wheel rotates.

9. In a feed for a cigarette machine, the combination comprising means for delivering shredded tobacco to be compacted, a pair of opposed surfaces spaced from each other for receiving tobacco therebetween from said delivering means and movable for conveying the tobacco therethrough and for compacting the same in a direction from each of the pair of surfaces towards the other, tobacco abrading means extending between the pair of opposed surfaces and being operable in a plane transverse to the direction of compaction to remove tobacco therefrom, and means for adjusting in a direction perpendicular to the direction of compaction the relative position between the pair of opposed surfaces and the abrading means to change the location of the compacted tobacco from the location where the abrading means removes tobacco particles.

10. The combination according to claim 9 wherein each of the pair of opposed surfaces moves in a fixed path, and

5 the adjusting means is operable to vary the position of the abrading means between the pair of opposed surfaces and relative to the fixed paths of movement thereof.

wheel rotatable on an axis parallel to said parallel axes.

12. The combination according to claim 5 wherein the pair of confronting surfaces are the cylindrical surfaces of a pair of rollers which are rotatable on parallel axes for compacting said tobacco in a direction extending between the parallel axes and the abrading means is a picker wheel rotatable on an axis parallel to said parallel 13. The combination according to claim 5 including a chute for receiving said removed particles, a casing member for directing said tobacco particles into said chute and a control device responsive to the height of tobacco in said chute for controlling the speed of said pair of moving surfaces.

14. The combination according to claim 5 wherein the pair of con-fronting surfaces are opposed rollers which are rotatable upon parallel axes, said rollers having surfaces shaped as hyperboloids for compacting and advancing tobacco therebetween and the abrading means is a picker wheel operable to remove tobacco from between said rollers.

15. The combination according to claim 14 wherein the axis of the picker wheel lies in a horizontal plane which is oblique to the plane containing the axes of the rollers.

References Qited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 287,405 10/1883 Barker. 424,443

FOREIGN PATENTS SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

ABRAHAM G. STONE, JOSEPH S. REICH,

Examiners.

3/1890 Allison 131-109 7/1929 Hopkins 131-84 

1. IN A CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A SOURCE OF SHREDDED TOBACCO, A PAIR OF SPACED PARALLEL ROLLS OPERABLE TO FRICTIONALLY ENGAGE AND INCREASINGLY COMPACT TOBACCO DELIVERED TO THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID ROLLS FROM SAID SOURCE, PICKING MEANS ROTATABLE ABOUT AN AXIS PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXES OF SAID ROLLS FOR REMOVING THE COMPACTED TOBACCO FROM BETWEEN SAID ROLLS, SAID PICKING MEANS COMPRISING PICKING PINS WHICH ARE PROJECTABLE BETWEEN SAID PARALLEL ROLLS AND INTO SAID COMPACTED TOBACCO IN THE REGION ABOVE A PLANE PASSING THROUGH THE AXES OF ROTATION OF SAID PARALLEL ROLLS. 